Warren operating on bad political adviceDate: 5/21/2012 May 21, 2012
By G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.com
America loves to forgive people, but they have to ask for it.
Last week I wrote about Elizabeth Warren's statements about being Native American. I said that if she didn't profit from such a claim, then this was all a diversion from more serious campaign matters.
It now seems the initial historical record that was reported, which would have supported her heritage, isn't there. So what was a family story has been turned into a question of fraud in some people's eyes.
So now we have an unpleasant story to say the least, although it has yet to be confirmed that Warren benefitted from a designation of minority.
What made the story thornier for Warren was a piece posted on www.Politico.com that quoted a story in a 1997 Fordham Law Review that characterized Warren as Harvard Law School's first "woman of color."
The Politico story noted that at the time Warren may never have seen the story from 1997 and had no idea she was being described that way.
I sent an email to the Warren people and asked them to make a statement about this issue. I've not heard back. I really didn't expect to receive a response.
I've also asked to have a real interview with her instead of merely turning up at her tightly scheduled events and settling for a sound bite. I've not heard about that request either.
The classic public relations method of handling such an issue would have been for Warren to conduct a press conference to explain the idea that her family has such a heritage was more legend than fact and that she was sorry for allowing the claim to go public without the corroborating documentation.
Stonewalling won't work here. It's not too late for her to do so, but the longer she waits, the more damage is done.
She strikes me as a smart person, but clearly she has been operating on some very bad political advice.
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As a Springfield resident, I'm having problems wrapping my head around the idea of a downtown casino — especially one that would simply be a gambling a parlor with the food and entertainment located at existing restaurants and venues such as Symphony Hall.
It's hard for me to believe a deal could be cut with a major casino developer that would include such provisions. Frankly, to have a casino that would be truly competitive with those in Connecticut, we need one that would have all of gambling, all of the amenities and all of the entertainment they do.
Let's face it, about the only thing a modern casino doesn't offer is a gas station and a strip club and I shudder to think those would be the only businesses that would survive if a full-service casino was placed somewhere downtown.
I'm also having problems thinking the Ameristar people up on Page Boulevard really have the type of casino needed for the region. Their presentation of their existing facilities wasn't very exciting.
What do you think?
Hey, agree with me? Disagree? Drop me a line at news@thereminder.com or at 280 N. Main St., East Longmeadow, MA 01028.
As always, this column represents the opinion of its author and not the publishers or advertisers of this newspaper.
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